


Even When Life’s Gotten Scarce

by Ran_E



Series: Those of Ylisse [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Bad end, Brand of the Exalt, Chrom!Inigo, Dancer Azur | Inigo, Gen, Good End, Identity Reveal, Lon’qu!Owain, Ophelia & Soleil’s mothers are ambiguous, Risen, The Future Past DLC, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ran_E/pseuds/Ran_E
Summary: “Four of my children are in danger,” Naga’s kind face became sorrowful, “and two of them, both of my direct bloodline, are fated to die today.”Of course Ophelia and Soleil had to accept. They didn’t expect, however, the ones they would encounter to be so close to them.(Complete as of 4th of July)
Series: Those of Ylisse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740103
Comments: 11
Kudos: 39





	1. Even When Life’s Gotten Scarce

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Someone That You Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626353) by [RandyPandy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy). 



> Some things to know before reading:
> 
> -The children in the Future Past DLC are the same as in the games. It’s not an alternative timeline.
> 
> -Inigo’s father is Chrom, Owain’s is Lon’qu

There was no denying the woman in front of them radiated a divine presence- or at least a holy one. She basked in her light as she looked upon the two young girls in front of her with a certain warmth in her heart. Even if Ophelia and Soleil did not know where they were, they could feel they were safe.

For the first time, the green haired woman spoke. “My name is Naga, dear children. Although I would like to talk to you some more, time is running out. I have a very important request to make.”

Well, yeah, Soleil saw an opportunity to flirt. Because she always saw one and the circumstances around it didn’t matter.

“So, lady, you seem very nice! Wanna grab tea sometime? Just the two of us?” Soleil throws in a wink for extra effect and she doesn’t even seem to notice the absolute horrified stare Ophelia is giving her from the side. Every single thing about this situation screamed ‘not the time’ and yet Soleil was ignoring every single hint thrown at her.

“Soleil,” she stated, appalled by her actions in front of this holy being, “Can you not see her divinity? Lo, she is the angel descending above an ocean of stars!” She decided a quick, sharp jab in her side should do. And as she did, Soleil merely winked again, this time directed at her companion.

Naga did not seem to mind, however. She merely smiled. “Do not worry, for you are my children. There’s no need to be on edge. You must be wondering why I have called upon you, yes?”

And yes, did they wonder. It had started with Soleil stalking Ophelia again. Ophelia had been silently reading in the library about new spells she could try when the pink-haired girl had rudely interrupted her by screaming her affections for the mage. Ophelia had calmly and politely told Soleil to mind her own business, but she just had to grab her spell book. That would not have been a problem if she hadn’t destroyed the most important pages -the ones she hadn’t researched yet- in it.

Then, everything went downwards from there. Ophelia casted a spell, or had at least tried to, which Soleil so ungracefully dodged. The spell hit the enormous bookcase behind Ophelia and it threatened to fall on both of them. By throwing the now useless spell book, Ophelia had decided their fate. She hit Soleil right on her head and she stumbled backwards, hitting the bookshelves. Just as it fell, both of them had appeared in the place they were now.

“Four of my children are in danger,” her kind face became sorrowful, “and two of them, both of my direct bloodline, are fated to die today. The other two shall be severely wounded, but alive.”

Though the news was nothing to be cheery about, Ophelia couldn’t deny she was feeling very excited! She could feel what was about to happen. Surely the woman in front of them would ask them to save them, they would be heroes! Ophelia Dusk was up to the task!

Soleil, however, had other concerns on her mind, even if she was just as excited, in a way. Why _them_ specifically? They had just defeated the dragon called Anankos and she had no intention to die. Especially now that she was reunited with her father and was able to see him everyday, she didn’t want to lose him. Even if she had those doubts, her smile hadn’t left her face.

Ophelia threw her hands into the air. “Is it a divine request? Tell us more! Are we the chosen ones?”

“I wish for you to avoid their tragic deaths,” she told them. “They are very important for the future of not only Ylisse, but Regna Ferox, Valm and Plegia as well.” But was it possible to know who to save? How would they recognize the ones they needed to help? Naga noticed the hesitation in their eyes. “Do not worry, you may speak freely.”

The woman in front of them seemed very kindhearted, but the both of them couldn’t help but feel intimidated by her presence, Soleil more so than Ophelia. Ophelia had all the confidence in the world while Soleil was rather hesitant.

Soleil had almost reached with her hand in the air to indicate she wanted to say something, but remembered Naga’s words. “How do we know who we should help? And how can we help your children?”

This may have been the very first time they had met, but Naga loved those girls with her entire heart. “Believe me when I say this, you will recognize them: the one who bears the Brand on his arm and the one who bears the Brand in his eye. I am certain, however, that your hearts will guide you.”

A short pause followed. “These children are very important, but the ones without the brand have a very important gem. If that gem does not arrive in Ylisstol, the capital of Ylisse, they shall all die and the future of this land will be lost.”

“The Brand?” Those words had grabbed the entirety of Ophelia’s attention. She thought back to the conversation she had had with her father just a few days ago. A strange birthmark had suddenly surfaced on her own wrist. Her father, Odin, had said the mark did not have any special powers, but it had been clear it was very important to him. His pained expression when he said his own was gone was enough for her to understand and she hadn’t pressed him any further on it. She turned her arm to show it to Naga. “Did you mean like this one? Will my origins be unraveled?”

Naga’s all knowing smile had said enough. “Yes... Good. It’s time to depart. But I do have some final words for you. Failing to save them does not necessarily mean you shall fade with them. I have made sure of that. It is the least I could offer for your aid.”

“Wait!” Soleil quickly yelled, “How do we get back?”

_But Naga was no more and neither were they._

____  
  


“What the hell do you think you jackfarts are doin’?!”

“Damnit Inigo, we didn’t _both_ have to die!”

The scenario was an utter hellscape, even the weather seemed to reflect it. Most of the trees and plants were dead and the only sign of life was the yelling of four people nearby the canyon, two of them on either side. Remains of a wooden bridge hung limply by its side.

The boy with deep blue hair responded by screaming. “Get back to Ylisse! If we cross the bridge together they will get us! Go on without us, we’ll hold them off and catch up with you later!” 

Ophelia and Soleil had found themselves on a hill.

At first glance, Ophelia and Soleil hadn’t seen the ones that had cut down the bridge being surrounded by... Brigands, maybe? Whoever they were, they were clearly their enemies. Those four must have been the ones Naga meant, right? There were no others near as far as they could see.

But before they could get closer, a loud grunt echoed from behind them. A mere few seconds later, those grunts had multiplied. And on a closer look, there was absolutely no way these things were human. If anything, they resembled the Faceless, but with an ominous stench surrounding them. Covered in blood they were, like corpses brought back to life after partial decomposing.

Both Ophelia and Soleil felt disgusted and sick. “Soleil, what _is_ this dark presence?! It burns my very soul!” She readied her tome to attack these creatures. Multiple spells hit multiple monstrosities at the same time and, fortunately, the spells seemed to work quite effectively. Soleil was cutting away at them too, but both knew there were too much for the two of them to kill off. If they wanted to stand a chance, they would have to work together with those people down below.

The pink haired girl ran in front, taking out any enemies directly in their way, while Ophelia made sure to make the other ones keep their distance from them with her long-distance spells. Together, they tried their very best to reach the other people just down below, because together, they would have a better chance. On top of that, these four people, separated by a fallen bridge, needed their aid. Naga had said so and they had promised.

With every step they could see the people better, now revealed to be three young people and someone in a seemingly very hot and furry coat. A man with a staff and the man with the coat were on the opposite side of the bridge, as seen from the girls’ perspective. The remaining two men, one with brown hair and the other with blue hair, were both on the receiving end of the incoming attack. Most of the creatures were on their, which included Ophelia and Soleil, side of the bridge. They seemed to be the only ones with weapons as well. A quick look in the other direction revealed only a staff.

“Go back to Ylisse,” one of them screamed, “We’ll catch up to you.” They weren’t even able to look at them anymore; they were surrounded by enemies.

“That’d better be a promise, ya hear?” The man with the staff responded. He and the man in the bigfurry coat didn’t look like they were leaving, however. Rather, they distanced themselves from the bridge and waited. Probably to make sure they could see their companions keep their promise.

The remaining ones were completely surrounded at this point and it didn’t seem like they were going to make it. Fortunately, the girls Naga had called upon had finally reached them.

“Hold on,” Soleil called with a big smile on her face, even if she was already feeling her muscles tending up, “We’re here to help!”

The brown haired man looked up from his fight to see the what was going on- a foul decision, since one of the monsters slashed one of his shoulders.

“Owain!” the blue haired one yelled with shock apparent on his face, “Are you okay?” Without making the same mistake his friend had made, he kept fighting and addressed the people who had come to his aid.

“Don’t try it if you can still flee!” His eyes were fixed on the creatures surrounding him. The amount of those things were overwhelming and surviving with just two people was an impossible task. But he knew that, if there were more people who could help, they might just all make it.

Their fighting styles, they noticed, were vastly different. While the brown haired swordsman seemed to quickly slash the monsters with his weapon, the blue haired one was actually dancing with them. It didn’t seem like an appropriate time for that, but it was a sight to behold.

Ophelia had no short-range weapons with her, which made casting spells a lot more tricky with the enemy so close by. Casting spells on close distance was very dangerous, but now she had. “Do not worry! The great hero, the _chosen one_ , Ophelia Dusk, is here to save you!”

Even if the brown haired man was frantically slashing his sword wherever he could, whenever he could, he knew and felt he just had to answer to her introduction, that was his shtick. “We thank you for your aid, Dark One! I am Owain Da- _No_.” A change of mind. The tremble at the end of his sentence was enough to give away his fear. “Please help us, I don’t want to die!”

A small hint of recognition flashed across Ophelia’s eyes, but she couldn’t afford to take her eyes or her thoughts off the monsters around them. It was apparent, though, that there weren’t any others joining the battle.

They were winning and everything was going so well until a scream of horror echoed across the field they resided in. “Owain! That Risen threw my weapon off the cliff!” His face showed a smile but his voice betrayed his emotions. He was barely keeping it together, but kept minor dancing movements in his pacing, even with no weapon to hold. _Strange_ , Soleil thought.

Within a second, the so-called Risen had surrounded the weaponless man and they focused their attention _solely_ on him, as if he had attracted them all. Soleil briefly wondered if it was the scream or lack of weapon that had made the Risen go after them, but the thought was soon discarded in favor of her rushing in to help him.

As she rushed in she could hear the newly-dubbed Owain loudly tell him he would come for him as soon as he possibly could. “Cousin! Hold on, I’m coming!” He waved with his hand in the hopes of his cousin being able to see him if hearing him wasn’t an option.

Soleil was earlier though and thrusted her weapon into any Risen standing in the way. She was soon joined by Owain who had skillfully and fast - even faster than he had before- taken out a lot of them at once. For some reason, he seemed to have a lot of energy and Soleil had to admit she herself felt more energized too. A quick look behind her revealed Ophelia fighting better than she had before as well.

“I’m going to fall, Owain! Go join Brady and Yarne, it’s okay! You find a way to reach them! Tell Lucina...” The smile almost broke. Almost.

“...Tell her _I’m sorry_!”

Ophelia would swear there was a hint of jealousy on Owain’s face if it hadn’t been for this ridiculous situation they were in. “That was my plan, Inigo, and look how that ended up! You do not deserve a heroic death yet!”

Soleil did not know why his actions annoyed her so much, but they really did. She didn’t bother killing the other Risen right away. She merely pushed past the last ones blocking her way and took the dancing duelist by his arm to pull him towards her, past the Risen, away from the cliff. They came out mostly unscathed, but one of them managed to grab Soleil’s arm for a short wound and left claw-like marks on the length of her arm.

Meanwhile, Ophelia and Owain worked together to take out the last of Risen. As the very last one was pushed off the cliff by Ophelia’s wind spell, Owain cheered on. “That is so cool! How did you become a mage! You must have the darkest spirit to commit your soul to such curses.”

“This is no dark magic! This was merely Wind.”

“You HAVE to teach me!”

Inigo was panting heavily as Soleil saved him from a terrible fate and as he looked up to his savior, his eyes widened, especially upon seeing my headband. “Mother? You’re alive?!”

It took a few seconds for her to process what he was saying and when it hid, she wasn’t very sure what to do. She took a good look at him, when she realized she knew that face. “Dad? Laslow? Is that you?”

“No, it’s Inigo, I’m sorry,” he said, “you reminded me of my mother, but you’re simply too young.”’ A frown. “Actually, I think we’re the same age... I’m not your father, but that’s a good thing! When this is all over we can have some tea, if you’d like? What’s your name? It can’t be anything but something lovely.” And a wink. Without looking, he could feel Owain’s annoyed gaze.

“It’s Soleil!” Even if he denied it, this convinced Soleil even more. “You are him, aren’t you?”

“Who?”

“My dad!”

Inigo resisted the urge to frown. “I’m not quite sure how to reply to that.”

The conversation was then called to a halt, however, since Ophelia wanted to know something very badly. The reason she had said yes to this divine mission was partly to figure that something out. “Listen to me,” she said, “I, Ophelia Dusk, want to know about the Brand.”

For some reason, Owain looked a bit defeated with a hint of shame thrown in. “Of course that’s what you wanted to know about. But... you two saved us,” he glanced at Inigo, who gave a simple nod of approval, “so I think we can tell you.” He removed his sleeve and held his arm out to the girls.

Ophelia’s expression was one of pure joy. “At last! I have found it. It’s the same! You must be the one who bears the brand on his arm!”

Inigo kept his smile on his face but was getting more skeptical. “How did you know he has it on his arm?”

“She told us!” Ophelia exclaimed. “Are you the one who bears the brand in his eye?” She approached Inigo and looked into his eyes. “You are!”

At this the pair of cousins, but Inigo in particular, got uncomfortable. “Stop staring at me!”

Were they right in trusting a stranger to know they’re royalty? Was this attack and rescue all a farce to deceive them? “Are you a spy? Is that why you know?”

Ophelia completely ignored his question. “Now you must tell me what it means!”

Soleil almost facepalmed at her bluntness, but the others were just confused. “Wait,” Owain said, “you know of the Brand, but do not know what it means?”

Her quick and eager nod was enough for them to know she was genuine in her curiosity. Soleil noticed this was only helping them in gaining their distrust. “Ophelia, I think you should show them.”

She followed her friend’s advice and rolled up her own sleeve far enough to expose her wrist, where her own brand resided. Soleil couldn’t help but laugh a bit at their horrible attempt at hiding their shock.

“Wait,” for the first time, Inigo’s smile faded from his face, “but how is that even possible! We’re the _last ones_ left!”

To be honest, Owain wasn’t the best at keeping it in either. He gripped her arm, perhaps a bit too harshly. “It’s real! She bears the mark of Naga! Ophelia Dusk, was it?” Ophelia nodded. “Tell me, who are your parents?!”

“My father’s name is Odin Dark!” At this, Owain could feel Inigo’s burning gaze on him. “He is from... Actually I am not sure. I do know he is notfrom Nohr.”

And that’s when realization struck her. “He has your exact appearance, actually! Aside from the hair color, and he looks to be a bit more of age! He is truly a Scion of Legend!” Then it struck even more and she almost broke out in a cold sweat of nervousness. “He told me he once bore the brand on his arm.”

“Nohr? I never heard of that place...” Inigo may not have, but Owain did. “The Kingdom of Darkness from the myths! You two hail from the Kingdom of Darkness? But how did the mark of Ylissean royalty reach another land?”

Yeah, no. Soleil wasn’t going to let that piece of information slip by without mentioning. “Royalty? Is that what the mark is? A mark of royalty? So you are both princes! Kings? Leaders? That is so cool!”

“So I am a Chosen One!”

Owain replied. “You shouldn’t call me that. I do not deserve it. I would merely be the Lord of a Dead Empire...”

That brought back the reality of the with sadness filled dead wasteland they currently resided in. No one knew the appropriate response to Owain’s statement, so a short silence followed.

“I was actually wondering,” Soleil abruptly said, redirecting her gaze to Inigo, “why you were dancing on the battlefield, even when your weapon was gone.”

Inigo got beet-red. “You were watching me?”

The pink haired girl nodded. “Your dancing reminded me of my father, of you! I just wanted to know why you would dance on the battlefield without weapon.”

“I am not your father! Is this your way of mocking me for mistaking you for my mother?!” And that was not a response Soleil had ever expected to hear from her father’s mouth. It allowed a small seed of doubt to be planted within her thoughts. Was this her father, or simply a lookalike?

“It’s not!”

Inigo was visibly upset. “Don’t look at me! I-“ It took him a few seconds to regain his breath. “My mother’s dance... It was imbued with magic. Whenever she danced, it would give her allies strength and resolve. I inherited that gift, but I can’t make fully use of it. She died before she could teach me.”

This gave Soleil the perfect opportunity to cheer him up, she knew it! “I felt it, your magic!”

His eyes widened. “You did?”

“Yeah!” she almost yelled, “I regained all my energy as soon as I got there. Otherwise I would have never been able to pull you away from all these Risen.”

This time, Inigo was the one to pull Soleil closer to him. “... _Thank you_.” She hugged him back and there was something familiar in it. Perhaps, this really was her father.

“I don’t mean to ruin the moment,” Owain interrupted, “but are any of you able to use healing magic? My shoulder is still bleeding.”

Ophelia shared her thoughts. “I am so sorry father, I have never immersed in the Light Arts of healing.”

The deadpanned look Owain gave her was enough to make Ophelia giggle. “I suppose you’ll believe me when you’ve finally taken on the name of Odin Dark.”

“That’s... I think you’re speaking the truth.” Owain said, but Inigo’s disapproving expression told him his thoughts about that.

Ophelia stared. “You believe me?”

“You knew my mighty nickname! That is proof enough for me. Besides that...” Owain looked away with a bit of shame, “I always wanted my first daughter to be named Ophelia! For it is the most sacred of names.”

Ophelia smiled with pride.

On the other side of the bridge, Brady and Yarne came running. “Oi, you idiots! I’ve a healing right here! There’s another of these bridges right over there! Cross it!”

“We have the gemstone right here!” Yarne said, “I wouldn’t leave you alone to die!”

Brady had one last thing to add. “Next time ya try to do that, I’m killin’ ya myself!”

“Just a second!” Owain said while Inigo yelled “We’ve found survivors!”

“Wha’d ya mean? There’s none!”

They turned around to take Ophelia and Soleil with them.

_But they were no more._

___

Soleil and Ophelia found themselves within the presence of Naga once again.

“Well done, Warriors of the Outrealms. Thanks to your aid, these children will surely find their way back to Ylisstol with the gem.”

Ophelia had a question she couldn’t have left unanswered. “Is Owain my father? Is he Odin?”

Naga smiled. “Your heart will know if he is. The same goes for you, Soleil. What do you think?”

Soleil wasn’t expecting Naga to ask her a question, but answered nonetheless. “He was different...”

Naga acknowledged her answer with a nod. “And of course he was, because that is who he has been. He is not yet the one you know.”

And that confirmed it for them, mostly. Owain and Inigo were really their fathers, but why did they look so different? Perhaps that was a question they had better ask them themselves.

“But,” Ophelia questioned, “if we had not saved them, what terrible fate would have awaited them?”

Naga looked pained, to say the least. That information wasn’t something they should know per say, but if they wanted to, perhaps that was good too. “Owain,” she started, “would not have looked up when you arrived, but only when Inigo was surrounded by enemies. He had not learned of the earlier mistake and, as Inigo fell, he got distracted. That mistake would be fatal for him.”

Both Ophelia and Soleil cringed.

“But all is well now. I shall send you back to your own realm. You have done well. Even when life has gotten scarce and the wars keep on waging, know that you will be okay, for I am looking over you.”

_And, for the last time, Naga was no more._

___

Back to Nohr it was, it seems. They were back in the library, which was still a mess, of course. Except it was partly cleaned up. Forrest, Siegbert and Nina, for some reason, were cleaning up the mess together. When Nina spotted them, however, it was war.

“What the hell happened here?! Considering you two just appeared out of nowhere, quite literally, I assume this is your doing!”

Soleil and Ophelia merely glanced at each other before they broke into a laughing fit. Ophelia especially teared up. “If Lord Leo knew this ahah-“

“Imagine his face!” Soleil added. “And King Xander gave my father house arrest!”

Siegbert and Forrest were looking at their retainers as if they had grown several heads. On top of that, Forrest seemed to be quite insulted while Siegbert was just looking at the scenario, not knowing what to think. Their laughter stopped for a second, when they noticed their liege’s faces.

Then they went on.

Then four more figures stormed in, revealing themselves to be Odin, King Xander, Prince Leo and Laslow.

“What in the name of the Dusk Dragon is going on here?!” Xander exclaimed. Leo didn’t even have words to explain the pain in his heart as he saw the ravished books on the ground.

Laslow for some reason or another just stared at Soleil. The moment he saw the chaos that the library had become, he knew his daughter had had the biggest part of it. Ophelia at least had some sort of self-control, but his daughter... His daughter could be a walking thunderstorm in some unhappy days. “Soleil. Why do you have to make everything so difficult. Every time! Why must you do this every time!”

Soleil held up her hands in defeat but still couldn’t stop laughing, even with the stern look her father was giving her (and that did not happen a lot!) She knew fully well that her father knew that she wasn’t the one who would get in trouble for this. It would be Laslow getting in trouble.

It was only a second after that he noticed the scratch marks on her arms. “Soleil,” he whispered, “Your arm...”

Soleil herself had almost forgotten about the scratch marks the Risen had given her when she had pulled Inigo -her father, probably- from a certain death and before she knew it, she was being embraced by her crying father.

“I’m so sorry,” he said in between sobs, “for not believing you.” And as realization sunk in, Soleil, too, started sobbing.

Xander, Leo, and Nina couldn’t do anything but stare because _what had just happened?_ Forrest had walked to the back of the library to take his staff which he, for some reason, had taken with him _to the library._ Siegbert had stealthily snuck out of the room to avoid Drama.

The door of the library opened once again and this time it was Niles entering the room. It was a sight to see: fallen bookcases, ruined books, Laslow and Soleil crying together, Ophelia creepily staring at her father, his lieges standing there speechless and, oh no, his own daughter was involved in this as well.

No, he would not deal with this. He absolutely refused to deal with this. He whispered a quiet “ _What the fuck_?” before leaving the library as quickly as he had entered. No matter how interesting the scene was, he did not want to get involved in this. Never.

Ophelia couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke out in laughter again. Odin soon followed as he also broke out in laughter. Inigo, however, saw it as an insult.

“Yeah, go on! Laugh at the _big, fat_ crybaby!”

Leo looked upon the scene with scorn, but when he saw Xander smile, he took a seat and sat down.

Out of the blue, once again, Ophelia interrupted the organized chaos surrounding them. “Your shoulder is scarred, father... Has it always been?”

Odin’s big smile left his face in understanding. “Ah, I see now the reason my cousin has opened the waterfalls!” He took Ophelia’s face in his hands, but not before unconsciously brushing over her wrist. “Were you hurt?”

Ophelia shook her head.

“Good.”

Leo spoke up. “Wait, you and Laslow are related?” His disgust grew even more. “I thought your daughters were dating!”

“We are not!” Ophelia yelled while Soleil looked away in shame. The mage’s face practically screamed relief at the realization that Soleil could not flirt with her anymore. “Now you must leave me in peace when I am studying!”

Soleil knew she should not look behind her, because she knew exactly what look her father was giving her right now. “You can flirt all you want, Soleil, but flirting with family is a big line that you may not cross!”

“But how could I have known!” She exclaimed, “Besides that, I didn’t know we were cousins!” A thought struck her. “You tried to flirt with me!”

”That was years ago! I didn’t know you were my own daughter!”

“Well Inigo, at least you can put your daughter on the ‘I should not have flirted with’ list together with the female pyromaniacs back in Ylisse!” Odin laughed loudly.

“Owain!” Inigo exclaimed while a deep-red blush spread across his face, “These are bold words for someone whose priced Manual of Justice is in my possession.” He smirked because he knew just how embarrassed that would make him feel. He waved the book around to show him he [really] had it.

Now it was Owain’s turn to have his face turn red. “Give it baaaaaack!” He charged for Inigo, but missed as the dancer swiftly glided to the side. Owain, however, had a plan.

“Wait! What is that on your left?!”

“Wait what?”

And before he knew it, Ophelia had taken her father’s Manual of Justice from the hands of the fiend opposing them.

“That’s not fair!” Inigo said, “That’s a dirty move!”

The two continued to fight on for a while, having completely forgotten their surrounding. But for now, everything was okay and they knew in their hearts all would be well because they were here, together.

_Severa, however, was walking just around the corner and, when she found out what they had done, she would murder them._


	2. Bad End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bad ending to the previous chapter. The story is hereby complete!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while, but here’s the bad ending to ‘Even when Life’s gotten scarce.’

They should have realized everything would go downhill once one of them lost their weapon.

They should have known.

And yet, they didn’t realize soon enough that they had already reached that unforgivable downward spiral the moment a Risen knocked Inigo’s sword out of his hand.

“Owain! That Risen threw my weapon off the cliff!” His face showed a smile but his voice betrayed his emotions. He was barely keeping it together, and the minor dancing movements in his pacing had stopped as well. About time, Soleil thought.

Within the smallest moment, that monster had surrounded the weaponless man and they focused their attention solely on him, as if he had attracted all of them. Soleil briefly wondered if it was the scream or lack of weapon that had made the Risen go after them, but the thought was soon discarded in favor of her rushing in to help him.

As she rushed in she could hear the newly-dubbed Owain loudly tell him he would come for him as soon as he able to. “Dear Cousin! Hold on, I’m coming!” He threw his hands in the air in the hopes of his cousin being able to see him if hearing him wasn’t an option.

Soleil was earlier though and thrusted her weapon into nearly any Risen standing in the way. She was soon joined by Owain who had skillfully and fast - even faster than he had before- taken out a lot of them at once. Despite that, his work had gotten sloppier. A quick look behind her revealed Ophelia fighting worse than she had before, since there was one thing no one could deny: they were exhausted.

“I’ll fall, Owain! Go join Brady and Yarne, it will be okay! You must find a way to reach them! Tell Lucina...” The smile broke. All at once, the whole façade broke.

“...Tell her to smile at my funeral!”

Ophelia would swear there was a hint of desperation on Owain’s face and honestly, she understood. Things weren’t looking good and she had no idea if they would ever get better. “That was my plan, Inigo, and look how that ended up! You do not deserve a heroic death yet!”

But it seemed fate could not be mingled with and if fate wills it, fate wills it. Just like fate had written, the boy would meet his end today. And not just today. That heroic death? It would be now. He would die on a quest to save his halidom. That was his fate. That’s what it had always been.

No matter how much fancy footwork had been shown in the earlier parts of the dance, one small misstep could ruin the whole performance. In this case, the stage beneath his feet crumbled to dust, quite literally.

In an attempt to dodge an incoming blow from a Risen, Inigo dodged, but at the cost of having no stable ground beneath his own feet. The black soil cracked beneath his weight and the dancer fell into the ice-cold water below.

And gone was Inigo. Soleil’s smile died with him.

And as if that hadn’t been enough: Owain’s face was heartbreaking. In that moment, there wasn’t any hope left on that face anymore. He’d gotten incredibly pale as he stared into the abyss of water that, if it hadn’t been flowing so quickly, would have been frozen.

Inigo was dead. There was no way around it. At least now, he would be together with Olivia and Chrom. The last prince left alive found little comfort in that thought.

In his daze, he didn’t realize that fate would come, too, for him.

With her heart filled with panic, Ophelia readied herself against he upcoming swarm of Risen approaching them. She didn’t know when it had happened, but they had tripled, at least. There was no doubt that within a few minutes that number would a tenfold of what it had been before.

Ophelia and Soleil knew they had a mission and had failed it. The only thing they could do was make sure it wouldn’t fail even more. Would they even make it out themselves. The Risen ought to have a commander but they were nowhere within sight, especially regarding a sight of a mere few meters, limited by the monsters taking over their paths. Their Divine Decree had fallen.

Ophelia had only looked behind her for a second and that was all it took for her to realize that this would get worse. “Oh Owain! Messenger of the Stars! Do _not_ falter. Turn around and face your fate!”

Owain could only stare at the broken bridge and the waters below.

“Owain, _please_!” Soleil all but screamed.

The Risen were getting closer and there was no way for them to protect Owain at this point. Forced to part from each other, the three of them fought desperately with the hope of surviving this doomed day.

Yes, Owain had taken up his sword again, but he had obviously lost his drive. Things had gotten really bad and his tiredness was catching up to him. But he would survive and escape 

“Owain Dark will challenge his fate!” He yelled before taking on a handful of Risen in every single swing, the causation being his mind refusing to give in to his body. He would not lose. He had lost too much already.

His resolve inspired the two girls; they would not stop. And it did go well. Most Risen had been butchered. The way they took them out could almost be considered blasphemous, as animalistic as it went at some points.

But if course, hard work would be rewarded. The amount Risen was decreasing and no others were summoned in their place. Finally, they could almost rest.

He did not notice one of them approaching him with a Venin Axe. The axe slashed through the cloths on his back and left a big mark on his back. Owain fell face-first to the ground.

Soleil was the first to see him on the ground and even if she was the first, she hadn’t been fast. “This is a joke, right? Odin!”

With that, Ophelia spun around to see him lying on the ground as the pool of blood expanded beneath his body. Her eyes widened and she made her way to him as fast as she could possibly be.

While Soleil had taken the time to kick the Risen off the cliff, Ophelia kneeled by him.

“A hero has fallen, but such are the winds of fate. Tell Selena we’re sorry... for leaving her alone.” His mouth closed as his final breath left his mouth. He did not move again after that.

But how did he know who Selena was? Perhaps it was a divine intervention.

But this was reality. Owain was gone and Ophelia’s confidence died with him.

Before everything faded away in an inevitable darkness, they had caught a glimpse of two people rapidly approaching the bridge. Both were bawling their eyes out. It was hard to ignore, but...

_Inigo and Owain were no more and neither were they._

_____

They were back. Not back in Nohr, but they were with Naga. Her morphogenetic sorrow was apparent. None could blame them, since they were sorrowful themselves, even if that sorrow was reserved for people they barely knew in a future past they had never had the chance of living in.

The clock was ticking and it wasn’t ticking in their favor.

A sigh. “Dear children,” she began, calm but her voice filled with worry, “I must thank you for your help.”

Soleil was outraged. “But we did nothing! They died, they _all_ died!”

“We have failed our quest of heroic justice.” Ophelia added. It had been one task: save the children destined to die from their fate.

Naga solemnly shook her head. “I had hope,” she said, “but I should have known it was futile. It was their fate. It cannot be altered. This is not your fault.”

Ophelia and Soleil did not dare look into her eyes or her direction.

“There isn’t enough time.” She said. “I will have to send you off to say your goodbyes.”

That caught her attention.

“Wait,” Soleil questioned with her eyebrows furrowed, “what do you mean, ‘goodbyes’?”

If Naga was surprised by her question, she didn’t show it. “Dear children, I am talking about your fathers.”

While Ophelia was genuinely surprised, Soleil looked away in shame. That had confirmed it for them: Owain and Inigo were their fathers and they had seen them die.

Naga continued. “They have ceased to exist in the past, which means their futures will go with them. I will not take more of your time. I will try to extend their time, but it will not be long.”

Ophelia and Soleil shared a look.

“Goodbye, my children. Life may have gotten scarce, but their souls will be with you.”

_And for the last time, Naga was no more_

___

Back to Nohr it was, it seems. They were back in the library, which was still a mess, of course. The entire library was empty, except for Forrest who seemed to be looking for something.

“Where were you?” Forrest said, clearly panicked by whatever was going on. “You need to come with me, everyone had been looking for you!”

Ophelia and Soleil knew what was coming, but they didn’t dare say it aloud, fearing they would confirm their fate. They ran through the hallways and for some inexplicable reason they had come across nobody, not even a maid.

The halls of Caste Krakenburg weren’t hard to remember, but in these moment, they seemed like a maze which was impossible to escape from.

Finally, they arrived at King Xander’s quarters. It wasn’t the place they had expected to end up with, but they were bound to have a reason to go there.

Xander opened the door and upon seeing Ophelia and Soleil, he quickly gestured to the right. “Leo first!” He said, before quickly closing the door between them. Forrest’s face paled but he quickly grabbed both girls by their hands and led them to his father. And once again, the halls seemed to be anever ending nightmare.

“Forrest!” Soleil yelled. “What are you doing?!”

Oh, Soleil had a gut feeling of what he was doing, no, she knew what he was doing, but she needed confirmation as well.

“Odin first!” No other words followed while Ophelia visibly paled at the words. No matter what, he obviously thought Odin was a priority now, but why?

Alas, they had arrived. Not even close to Leo’s quarters, but they had arrived and Odin and Niles’ quarters.

Leo opened the door and his face carries a heavy frown. Behind him stood Niles, but he seemed more angry than anything. He even held his bow in his hand, as if he was ready to attack at any given moment.

Leo didn’t even say anything and took Ophelia by her. He led her to the leftmost bed where, as expected, her father was.

To say he didn’t look good was an understatement. The man looked like he’d just ingested a gallon of poison, with his pale face. He seemed to be very sweaty as well and if it hadn’t been for the heavy breathing -too heavy breathing, Ophelia noted- they would have assumed that was not a person, but a corpse laying there on the bed. The funeral might as well have been planned out already. It was obvious, at first glance, that he was a lost cause.

“Oh great Odin Dark! You must challenge your fate!” Ophelia exclaimed while taking his hand in her own ones.

“I- I don’t...” His pupils were extemely large. “Who’re... Lucy? The Risen, I... _what_?”

Delirious it was, then.

Niles spoke up. “Look, I have no idea who poisoned Odin! I was with him the whole time and then he suddenly _collapses_. I don’t know what happened!” He rapidly shook his head. “I don’t understand what the hell is going on! And then Laslow too!”

Soleil turned her head away from Odin and directed her gaze at Niles.

“Just, out of the blue, he develops a severe case of hypothermia! Whoever thought this up must have been in this castle for a _very_ long time. _Someone_ betrayed us!”

Leo spoke up for the first time too. “I do not know who did it, but they are very clever. We’ve already safeguarded Elise.”

“Lord Leo,” Niles said, “Haven’t I already suggested you stay with her too? The Nohrian Royal Family must be kept safe.”

It was at this point that a furious woman with red pigtails entered the room. The color of her face directly matched with her hair. In this moment, she radiated pure malice.

“But apparently the Ylissean Royal Family doesn’t matter then, now does it?!” Selena was known for her attitude throughout the entire castle, but this... She was unimaginably disrespectful right now. All eyes, except Odin’s, were on her. Odin was still mumbling.

“How did Owain get poisoned?! Tell me!” With how loudly she was screaming, it was a wonder her voice wasn’t getting raspy.

Niles interrupted. “What do you mean, ‘Owain’?” Even in dire situations, the man would find a way to get more information. Of course. That was a Niles-thing to do.

Selena slammed her fist on the table. “Do I look like I care?! Inigo just died, you had better find a way, some _thing_ , or some _one_ to fix _this_!”

Soleil hadn’t even noticed she had started crying until that sentence. That must have been why Lord Xander thought they should go to Odin first. His heart was still beating; Laslow’s was not.

Camilla had entered the room together with Selena, but no one had noticed her before because of Selena’s justified rampage. “Selena, please calm down, I understand-“

If her face could’ve gotten any redder, it would have. “I don’t even care anymore!” she said rather loudly, “it’s Severa, _Severa_!”

“Please, Ophelia, Soleil. Tell me what happened to them!” Selena, or rather Severa, squeezed their hands so harshly it hurt, but they couldn’t blame her. “Tell me what happened to Owain and Inigo!”

Soleil was ready to speak, but was soon interrupted by another voice. It was Forrest, who hadn’t spoken up since they had entered the room.

“Stop it! It’s Odin! He isn’t breathing!”

It wasn’t until they had looked into Odin’s direction that they had noticed the heavy and loud breathing that had been so very present in the room had ceased to be.

Odin had passed away.

Ophelia had never let go of his hand.

“Gods damnit, what the hell! Who killed them? Who killed Owain and Inigo?”

“There is no attacker.” Ophelia stated, her eyes rested on the people in front of her. Her red nose and teary eyes were enough to indicate her feelings.

Leo threw out his hands in completely pure frustration. “Then how would you explain all of this?!”

Soleil didn’t even look at them when she spoke. She simply directed her gaze to the side. Her tears hadn’t stopped flowing yet. Far from it, actually. “It’s because Owain and Inigo died a _loooong_ time ago.”

“And it’s _us_ who couldn’t save them.”

**BAD END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. I had originally intended the bad end to be ~800 words but oops.
> 
> About the poisoned Odin and Inigo with hypothermia thing: I took this idea from a game I played. I won’t say which one it is but if you’ve played it, you’ll know because of the ‘X is dying in the past and it develops as symptoms in the future’ thing.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I appreciate it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I’ve wanted to write a Future Past fic for a while now and today I have finally gotten around to doing so.
> 
> Also, I’m so sorry for the lack of Severa! I was rapidly writing this and at the end I was like ‘Yes! Done!” and then I realized I forgot Severa completely ://
> 
> I’m also planning to write a bad end so I’ll add that one later as a second chapter.


End file.
